When I was called to serve a mission back before the dawn of time, there was no equalization of missionary costs. Each had to bear the full expense of the mission to which he or she was sent. Some missions were very expensive, and as it turned out, mine was one of those.

Some years ago we eliminated stake missions and shifted the focus of our efforts to the ward mission organization. With a ward mission plan developed by every ward council in the Church, progress is being made at an ever-increasing rate. Much of the success is being achieved by the full-time missionaries working closely with ward councils, ward mission leaders, and the members of the Church.